Why does it seem like my whole house is itchy in August?

Dogs, cats, and even humans can all suffer from hay fever allergies. The end of July and most of the month of August seem to be prime times for this sort of allergy for many, regardless of where you live. If you live in the country, you see all the farmland which is green and ripe and in the city, you see the bees buzzing, butterflies fluttering, the grasshoppers hopping, and some years the Japanese beetles even get particularly carried away. All these bugs are telling us that there’s lots of yummy pollen in the air, regardless of whether they eat the pollen or if they eat the plant. The point of this biology lesson is that for those with hay fever allergies, regardless of species, the season is now. This means some dogs, some cats, some horses, some humans, even some llamas start with the itching eyes, the scratching, the digging, the hotspot; all of the signs of a seasonal allergy attack. Oh, and fleas are really ramping up right now to make things just a little bit worse.

The way to know it’s a seasonal allergy is really based on time of year.

If your dog were allergic to the shampoo your groomer used, the allergy would have started before now, and would continue after the August weather is done. If it were a food allergy, then it would be year round, maybe just a little worse this time of year. Things to do include making sure there are no fleas to torture your beloved pet, and to work with your veterinarian to make sure there are no food allergies, then you can deal with the symptoms of hay fever.

A really big thing that helps is detoxification, basically cleansing of the liver. Since the liver is responsible for processing just about everything in the body and relates strongly to allergies, it makes sense to detoxify the liver. If your dog or cat is miserable with hotspots, I would highly recommend taking him to your veterinarian for some kind of treatment – holistic, integrative, or western. August is almost gone, those with September allergies will be done with it all soon, and we will be surprised that winter will be here in no time. Hay fever will be done, at least for this year.

Comments

My dog has been diagnosed by our holistic vet as having a seasonal allergy – itchy eyes and tummy. Spring is really in the air here in South Africa at the moment! She is fed raw food and on occasion Orijen when we go tracking.

I read above that you recommend to detoxify the liver. May I ask how is the best way to do this? Do I use treatments such as Milk Thistle etc? What do you recommend?

There are numerous ways to detoxify the liver – basically depends on which detoxification pathway is “broken” in the liver. Milk Thistle can help, as can beet concentrate, n-acetyl cysteine, phosphatidylcholine. There are also liver detoxification diets – essentially fish and potatoes. 2 cups each white potato and sweet potato with 1.5 cup white fish. Feed for 2 weeks minimum to detoxify. The liver diet would be an excellent start, along with milk thistle, then see where you end up.

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Dr. Cathy isn't just a pet lover and veterinarian. She's a published author, sought after pet health expert for the media, and a passionate and practical voice for pet owners everywhere.
Now retired, Dr. Cathy is proud to have built a successful veterinary practice as one of the few veterinarians that offered both traditional veterinary care and alternative medicine options. Continue reading...

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